battles

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Antony Woodville and his daughter, Margaret.

Apr 29, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Anne ferch John, Anthony Woodville, Battle of Bosworth, Bristol, Buckingham rebellion, Forest of Dean, Glamorgan, Gwenllian Stradling, Henry VII, illegitimacy, John of Gaunt, Lord Mayor’s Chapel, Margaret Wydeville, Norman knights, Richard III, Sir Robert Poyntz, Thomas of woodstock, Wales

Antony Woodville, quite early in his career, had an affair with Gwenllian Stradling which led to the birth of a daughter, Margaret Woodville. As it turned out, although he subsequently married twice, this was his only child. Or certainly, his only child who grew up. The Stradlings were a long-standing Glamorgan gentry family, based at…
Finding Richard (from across the Atlantic Ocean)

Apr 28, 2023

Alternative History, archaeology, battles, buildings, religion, The play’s the thing

American Civil War, Catholicism, Charles I, Commonwealth, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry VIII, Leicester Greyfriars, Nazis, Reformation, Richard III discovery, USA, William Shakespeare

I had never been much interested in medieval history. I thought of them as backwards and a little too obsessed w the afterlife. However, the “what ifs” of history always intrigued me. What if the Nazis won WWII? What if the north had been defeated in the American Civil War? And so forth. I’d always…
Pinpointing the Battle of Barnet….

Apr 14, 2023

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, heraldry

badges, Barnet, Barnet Battlefield Project, battlefield archaelogy, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, fog, George Duke of Clarence, Hadley Green, Hertfordshire, John Neville Marquis of Montagu, Nevilles, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Wars of the Roses, weather

On 14th April 1471, Easter Sunday, in thick fog, was fought one of the pivotal battles of the Wars of the Roses, when the Yorkist Edward IV took on and defeated the by-then-Lancastrian Earl of Warwick, who was killed in the aftermath while trying to escape. His brother Montagu was killed as well. The…
Picking the Bones….

Apr 8, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, religion

Anne Neville, artillery, Barnet, bells, bigamy, cavalry, Charles Dickens, coronations, Coventry, Easter, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, emblems, fog, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VI, Holy Saturday, Isobel Neville, John Neville Marquis of Montagu, Lent, Middleham Castle, murder, poison, pre-contract, Richard III, Richard Woodville, rivers, Robert Stillington, supernatural, Thames Valley, Westminster Abbey, Wydevilles

This ghost story was inspired after reading this post by my good friend sparkypus. And the Battle of Barnet just happened to take place at an earlier Easter. Oh, and there’s a nod toward Dickens, but the facts don’t cooperate with Christmas! The eve of the Battle of Barnet, Holy Saturday, 13 April, 1471 It was…
Born back Ceaselessly into the Past: the History of the Fitzgeralds

Apr 3, 2023

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, The play’s the thing

“Stepping out with Scott and Zelda”, Abraham Lincoln, Alabama, American War of Independence, Anglo-Irish relations, assassination, Baltimore, Drew-Barrymore stock company, Earl of Kildare, executions, F Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgeralds, flappers, Francis Scott Key, Gallowglass, Ghiraldinis, Henry VIII, House of York, Ireland, Italy, Jazz Age, John Wilkes Booth, judges, Kentucky, Kildare Rebellion, Lincoln conspiracy, Lord Baltimore, Mary Surratt, Maryland, Minerva Machen Sayre, Munster, Norman-French, Philadelphia, renaissance, Richard III, Scotts, Senators, Susquehanna River, The Spar Spangled Banner, Thomas Cresap, Trinity College, Tyburn, United Kingdom, USA, Willis B. Machen, Yorkshire, Zelda Sayre

When most people think of the beautiful Scott and Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, they tend to think of the Jazz Age. That is the epithet coined by Scott to explain the wild ride of the 1920s – the drinking, the music, the partying, the real estate and stock market boom. And let’s not forget literary genius.…
Beautiful Collyweston….

Mar 30, 2023

archaeology, battles, buildings

architecture, Battle of Hastings, Ben Robinson, Cambridgeshire, Castle Acre, Clovelly, Cluniac Priories, Collyweston, cotton mills, Country Life, Cromfield, de Warenne, Derby, Devon, Dorset, fishing, Gainsthorpe, grubenhaus, Henry VII, industry, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lavenham, limestone, Lincolnshire, Milton Abbas, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Robin Hood’s Bay, Suffolk, Sutton-in-the-Isle, villages, West Stow, wool

The ten best villages in England are listed here and Collyweston in Northamptonshire makes the grade. I can only say that it does so entirely on its own merit and in spite of having once been the lair of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII.
Ranulph Lord Dacre of Gilsland – The Lord who was buried with his horse.

Mar 29, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion, sources

All Saints Saxby, arrows, AW Boardman, burials, churches, Cicely Neville, Cumberland, Dacres of Gilsland, Edward IV, Eleanor Fitzhugh, Exhumation, Gascoignes, George Duke of Clarence, George Goodwin, Georgian era, horses, Isabel Neville, Lady Margaret Stafford, Lady Philippe Neville, Lancastrian commanders, Leicester, letters, Mortimer’s Cross, MPs, Palm Sunday, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Ranulph Lord Dacre, Richard III, Second Battle of St. Albans, Soar, Stoke Field, Towton, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, WE Hampton

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @sparkypus.com The monument in All Saints Church, Saxton over the grave of Ranulph Lord Dacre and his horse. Photo Mary Emma1@Flkir Ranulph/Ranulf/Randolph/Ralph, Lord Dacre of Gilsland’s precise date of birth is lost to us – as is his exact Christian name it would seem -but has been suggested as c.1412 although…
Richard III returns to Kenilworth Castle….!

Mar 28, 2023

battles, buildings, Events

armour, Kenilworth Castle, Max Keen, re-enactment, u3a

I’m told that Max Keen is well worthing watching and hearing because he is a great expert on his medieval subject. Given that, and the fact that he will be appearing in the majestic surroundings of Kenilworth Castle make this coming occasion a must for those who can attend. This article states that Richard III…
Charles I and his Roundheads….?

Mar 27, 2023

anniversaries, battles, religion

Charles I, English Civil War, errors, Naseby, Oliver Cromwell, Parliamentary army, Puritans, Roundheads

Um, spot the bloopers in this article. These are the two I came upon, and I’m afraid I didn’t read the rest of the article. As far as I recall Charles I had the Royalist/Cavaliers on his side, and the only time Cromwell “ceased” control of the kingdom was when he turned up his toes!
The lady responsible for the costumes in The Lost King….

Mar 24, 2023

anniversaries, battles, films

armour, costumes, Harry Lloyd, Ninya Mikhaila, Nottinghamshire, Richard III, sewing, The Lost King, Tobias Capwell, Wollaton

I have heard mixed opinions about the costumes for The Lost King, mostly that the armour was spot-on but the king’s other clothes weren’t luxurious enough. Well, if you’ve wondered who was actually responsible for making them, here’s the answer:- “….A historical costume maker from Nottingham created some of the clothing worn by the actor…